transactionsTrade deadline: Jonathan Taylor becomes the biggest name on the board
With the Nov. 10 deadline approaching, Schefter and Rapoport report the Packers, Seahawks, Broncos and Vikings are all expected to inquire about Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (122 carries, 492 rushing yards, 7 TDs this season; Colts 2-4) after Indianapolis fired GM Chris Ballard. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon reportedly views Taylor as part of the team's rebuild and would want premium draft capital to move him. The Browns say they aren't shopping Jerry Jeudy and the price is high, even as GM Andrew Berry stays open to talks; Jeudy has rebounded from a slow start with a 33-yard catch-and-run in Week 6 against Baltimore. Chargers GM Joe Hortiz told other teams "we're not interested" in trading Khalil Mack or anyone else as the 0-6 team holds out hope for a turnaround.
Fantasy take
Taylor is in his first year of a two-year, $44 million extension signed in August, with $22 million a year on the deal and team control through 2028. He has run behind that price for six games while Indianapolis sits 2-4 and now operates without a GM. Any Taylor trade would be the first instance this cycle of a team moving a back that recently signed a top-three RB contract rather than one playing out an expiring deal, which is the wrinkle Packers, Seahawks, Broncos, and Vikings are weighing as they call in. In Cleveland, rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston have taken the Browns' top two receiver snap shares since Week 1, pushing Jerry Jeudy as low as 37% of offensive snaps in Week 4, the usage shift underlying Berry's position that any Jeudy deal starts from a high price rather than an urgent one.
Giants bench Winston for McCarthy at Houston
Harbaugh benched Jameis Winston for Sunday's game at Houston after Winston went 14-of-26 for 152 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and 15 sacks taken over his last five appearances in the loss to New Orleans. J.J. McCarthy, acquired from Minnesota on Sept. 28, takes over after entering that Saints game in relief and completing 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception with 26 rushing yards, leading 17 unanswered points. It's McCarthy's first start since the trade; original starter Jaxson Dart remains out for the season.
Fantasy take
Harbaugh's rationale was specific: Winston's 15 sacks taken and two interceptions over his final five appearances, capped by the New Orleans loss, pushed the staff to make the change rather than stick with incumbent stability. McCarthy's relief outing (11-of-21 for 243 yards and a touchdown, plus 26 rushing yards) continued a pattern from his final Minnesota season, where he posted 181 rushing yards and four rushing scores on 37 carries across 10 starts — the mobility now showing up at Houston isn't a new trait, just a return of one that had been dormant on the bench. Malik Nabers remains the clear target for wherever McCarthy's arm goes, with Cam Skattebo, Isaiah Likely, and Malachi Fields rounding out the pass-catching equation.
Lamar Jackson ruled out for a third straight week
The Ravens downgraded Lamar Jackson from questionable to out for Sunday's game at Cincinnati, his third straight missed start with the high left ankle sprain he suffered Oct. 4 against Tennessee. Jackson was limited in practice all week and said he needs to be able to plant on the ankle to help the team, not play restricted. Tyler Huntley, 6-8 as a fill-in starter, gets his third consecutive start under center.
Fantasy take
Jackson's practice reps never progressed past limited, and his own comment about needing to plant on the ankle — not just play through it — lines up with a team still unwilling to rush a high ankle sprain. Huntley's two spot starts have looked more functional than game-managing: 24-of-32 for 201 yards and two scores at Atlanta, 19-of-31 for 165 yards and a score at Cleveland, with Derrick Henry's workload climbing underneath him. A third straight week of this look pushes the timeline from "week-to-week" toward a stretch where Baltimore's offense is built around Huntley and Henry for now.
Bosa joins Evans and Samuel on the 49ers' inactive list; Kirk debuts
The 49ers ruled out Mike Evans (Achilles tendinitis), Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and, newly, Nick Bosa (calf) for Sunday's game against Atlanta. Christian Kirk, out since a camp calf injury in July, was activated off IR Friday and is expected to play his 2026 debut after Shanahan called the group's injury situation "a unique situation" he hasn't seen before in his career.
Fantasy take
Brandin Cooks' snap share climbed from 12% in Week 4 to 40% in Week 5 to 52% in Week 6 as the 49ers' receiver absences piled up, and he scored his first touchdown as a 49er in that Week 5 stretch; that trend now extends into a week where Evans, Samuel, and Bosa are all out. Kirk's activation ends a stretch that started with the calf strain in July camp and kept him out through the whole first half of the season. Kittle remains the lone healthy established pass-catcher on the depth chart alongside Cooks, Jordan Watkins, and Jacob Cowing for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Josh Jacobs makes his 2026 debut
Jacobs was activated off the commissioner exempt list Saturday and makes his 2026 season debut Sunday against Detroit after missing the first six games following a May arrest on misdemeanor battery and property-damage charges (he pleaded no contest in September). The league's personal conduct investigation is still open, and a suspension matching or exceeding the six games already missed remains possible. Green Bay ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (59.8) without him.
Fantasy take
The backfield Jacobs returns to is a muddled committee rather than a single clear incumbent: Pierre Strong Jr. led Green Bay's running backs in snap share each of the last two weeks (55% in Week 6, 11 carries for 28 yards), with Lloyd second (40%, 8 carries) and Kaleb Johnson getting a handful of touches as well. None of the three has approached the workload Jacobs carried before his absence.
Baker Mayfield back for the Bucs
Mayfield is active for Sunday's game at Carolina, ending a three-game absence for a dislocated right thumb that cost him since Sept. 27. He was a full practice participant all week with no setbacks and will wear a specialized glove — with a pad and metal reinforcement — for added support on the throwing hand. "You got to get used to it," Mayfield said. "Just changing your release points."
Fantasy take
Baker Mayfield's three missed starts went to Jalon Daniels; Tampa gets its full timeshare back in the backfield and at receiver with Bucky Irving, Kenny Gainwell, and Sean Tucker, plus Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., and Tez Johnson out wide. The glove is new equipment for a thumb that's still three weeks removed from a dislocation, and neither the deep-ball release nor the fastball placement over the middle has a single post-injury throw to measure yet. Mayfield's 2025 ball security already trended negative in the second half of last season (CPOE dropped from positive to negative after a separate shoulder injury in Week 12), a reminder that in-season hand/arm ailments for him have had lingering accuracy effects before.
Tank Dell returns for the Texans
Tank Dell is active for Sunday's game against the Giants, his first appearance since Dec. 21, 2024, when a teammate's collision left him with a dislocated kneecap and multiple ligament damage that required him to be carted off on a stretcher. Dell was removed from the injury report entirely heading into Week 7, and coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed he'll play.
Fantasy take
Dell returns to a Houston receiver room where the depth chart ahead of him has been thin on volume rather than dominant: Nico Collins has handled the lead role, with Jaylin Noel and Xavier Hutchinson rotating as complementary pieces at modest target shares. Dell's pre-injury profile was built on outside-receiver routes and downfield/intermediate targets rather than after-the-catch production, a skill set at odds with an undersized 5-10, 165-pound frame now almost two years removed from game reps and a torn ACL/MCL/LCL. Whatever snaps open up for him will be competing with multiple receivers already occupying that depth, with no indication yet of how the Texans plan to divide his workload.
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